SC Ranks 5th Worst State in U.S. To Make A Living

Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- A financial services website annually compiles a number of statistics to rate best-to-worst states for earning a living, and South Carolina is ranked among the Nation's worst.

The list, compiled by Money-Rates.com, takes stats including cost of living, average wages, unemployment, and state tax information, then based upon these factors builds their list of best - and worst - states to earn a living.

The Top Five:

Hawaii

Mississippi

Rhode Island

New York

South Carolina

For South Carolinians, it was the combination of our average low wages and high unemployment numbers that has kept the state in their bottom-ten rankings for the last three years.

Additionally, residents have given South Carolina the fifth-worst rating for work environment.

Hawaii was ranked tops on the list because of the extremely high cost of living, highest in the United States, and exacserbated by a high state income tax.

For Mississippi and Rhode Island, high unemployment is one major factor for both states. Unemployment in New York also factors in, along with a cost of living that's 38% higher than the national average.